Snapshot A 19-year-old male college student presents to the clinic complaining of a burning sensation with urination as well as purulent urethral discharge. He admits to rarely using condoms during sexual intercourse, and does not recall the last time he was tested for sexually-transmitted infections. Urinalysis is positive for leukocyte esterase and a Gram stain shows intracellular diplococci within polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Introduction Classification login to view 3 more bullets Epidemiology login to view 6 more bullets Pathogenesis login to view 10 more bullets Associated conditions login to view 5 more bullets Presentation Symptoms login to view 6 more bullets Studies Labs login to view 5 more bullets Histology login to view 2 more bullets Differential Chlamydia login to view 2 more bullets Urinary tract infection login to view 2 more bullets Genital herpes simplex login to view 2 more bullets Treatment Medical login to view 2 more bullets Complications Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) login to view 2 more bullets Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome login to view 3 more bullets Comparison with N. meningitidis Comparison with N. meningitidis Characteristics N. gonorrhoeae N. meningitidis Appearance Kidney-bean shaped diplococci Kidney-bean shaped diplococci Oxidase test Positive Polysaccharide capsule No Yes Fermentation Glucose ("Gonococci") Maltose and Glucose ("MeninGococci") Transmission Sex Respiratory Vaccine No (due to rapid antigenic variation) Yes β-lactamase production Common Rare IgA protease production Yes Yes